5/25/2021
Africa Day solemnly marked in PTT Museum
On occasion of May 25, Africa Day, today in PTT Museum there was a promotion of commemorative issue Africa Day and opening of exhibition titled Africa Undiscovered. The ceremony was attended by ambassadors and diplomats of African countries, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nemanja Starović and representatives of Museum of African Art, that together with Adligat Association provided professional cooperation in the realization of the philatelic issue and exhibition.
“The mission of the Post of Serbia is to connect people and continents and that is wayit is a special honour for us to promote the postal stamp dedicated to the longstanding friendship and common values of peoples of Serbia and Africa. With the people of Africa we share also a vision of future cooperation in the field of economy, modern technologies, infrastructure development and education, where Post of Serbia can contribute in the domain of postal, logistic and information services”, said Acting Director of the Post of Serbia Zoran Đorđević.
Nemanja Starović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, said that Serbia is proud of its glorious history and joint victories. “That is why we have included May 25 in the calendar of the most important days of the year and declared it the Day of Friendship with the People of Africa. Peaceful dispute resolution, tolerance, equality, the right to sustainable development, respect for international and public law, sovereignty and territorial integrity are the principles on which the world of the future we strive for must be founded”, pointed out Starović.
In the name of diplomatic representatives of African countries, the doyen of the Group of African Ambassadors, His Excellency, Ambassador of Algeria, Abdelhamid Chebchoub, pointed out that the stamp dedicated to Africa Day is a strong symbol of the friendship of Serbian and African people. “This initiative is not a surprise for us, because we are well aware of the friendly connections that mister Đorđević keeps with all African Ambassadors, as well as his ever-present will to improve the cooperation. The decision of the Post of Serbia to dedicate the postal stamp to Africa Day will contribute to perpetuating that special relationship between our continent and your country”, emphasized the ambassador Chebchoub.
Director of the PTT Museum Viktor Lazić, pointed out the exhibition “Africa Undiscovered” shows objects of great artistic and cultural significance from the Legacy of Slobodanka and Stanimir Jovanović, that are displayed to the public for the first time. “Yugoslavia and Serbia have always offered a brotherly hand of friendship, support and understanding to African people. It is no wonder that not a single object which is in the Museum of African Art or in the Adligat Association, did leave Africa as a spoil of the conquerors, but as a gift of our African friends or with approval of the local population“, pointed out Lazić.
Philatelic issue “Africa Day” consists of the stamp with a pan-African motif - a sculpture "Map of Africa" by Nikola Kolja Milunović. The vignettes depict items from the Museum of African Art which symbolize Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt, while Kenya, Tunisia and Ethiopia are presented by items from the Museum of Book and Travels of Adligat Association.
The Legacy of African Art, of Slobodanka and Stanimir Jovanović gifted to the Museum of Book and Travels of Adligat Association, is an outstanding collection of 62 items collected over decades of Stanimir Jovanović's diplomatic work in Zambia, Nigeria, Gabon, Ghana, Benin and other African countries.
Exhibition “Africa Undiscovered” is open for visitors for a week in the PTT Museum.